Red and Pink Crane Caps Explained. What was my mistake?

What’s Up?

Wednesday morning was Turkey Vulture, Great Egret, and Great Blue Heron — nothing too great. On Thursday morning the North Field had water six inches deep in spots from the continuing heavy afternoon rains. Reluctant to drive on the grass and get stuck, I grabbed my 200-600 and walked through the large puddles with my surf booties on. I was amazed that the White Ibises pretty much ignored me and I was even able to walk up to a Great Egret or two and a juvenile Little Blue Heron. I finished off working the Mother’s Day crane family with their now-single large colt. (See Image #3 below.) All in all it was a very good morning.

In bed last night at 8pm, I’ve been up working since 3:30am. Today is Friday 11 SEPT 2020. It is 5:30 now and it has been drizzling for about an hour. The sun is not supposed to come out for about a week … Nonetheless, I will be headed out in a bit to do some photography.

I was glad to learn of the recently completed sales below and of the pending sale of Morris Herstein’s SONY a9. I even have someone interested in my Nikon 70-200mm f/4. Time will tell on that one.

IPT veteran Mark Overgaard sold a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV body in excellent plus condition (was $1399.00) and his Canon 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens in near mint condition (was $549.00) to a single buyer for $1900.00 in early September.
Multiple IPT veteran and good friend William Schneider sold his Sony FE 2.8/16‑35 GM wide angle zoom lens in like-new condition for the very low price of $1400.00 (was $1498.00) in early September.
BAA friend Kay Kaylor sold her Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L USM lens in near-mint condition for a very low $524.00 (was $649.00) in early SEPT 2020.
IPT veteran Mark Overgaard sold his Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM lens in excellent plus condition for a very low $549.00 in early September 2020.
IPT veteran Mark Overgaard sold his Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens in excellent condition for $1349.00, a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM lens in excellent plus condition for $799.00, a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM lens in excellent plus condition for $549.00 and a Canon EF 400mm f/4L DO IS II USM lens in near-mint condition for a BAA record low $3049.00 all within the first two days of being listed in early SEPT 2020.

Your Favorite?

Which of today’s three featured images do you like best. If you leave a comment, please let us know why. I have a clear favorite and will share that with you here in three days.

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114 sold to rave reviews. The SONY e-Guide by Patrick Sparkman and Arthur Morris

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Gear Questions and Advice

Too many folks attending BAA IPTs and dozens of photographers whom I see in the field and on BPN, are–out of ignorance–using the wrong gear especially when it comes to tripods and more especially, tripod heads… Please know that I am always glad to answer your gear questions via e-mail. Those questions might deal with systems, camera bodies, accessories, and/or lens choices and decisions.

This image was created on Monday 7 September 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. Working from my SUV, I used the Levered Clamp FlexShooter Pro/Induro/GIT 204-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 500. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/400 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. ABW at 7:41am on a mostly sunny morning. Tracking Flexible Spot (M) Continuous AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #1: Adult Sandhill Crane holding preened body feather

My Mistake?

Click on the image to enlarge it and then take a close look at the exposure settings. What was my mistake?

It is much easier to photograph the cranes when they are preening than when they are foraging. The main reason is that they stand in one spot when they are grooming themselves. When they are foraging they have their heads down and they are constantly moving.

This image was also created on Monday 7 September 2020 at Indian Lake Estates. Again, working from my SUV, I used the Levered Clamp FlexShooter Pro/Induro/GIT 204-mounted Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS lens, the Sony FE 1.4x teleconverter, and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body. ISO 500. Exposure determined by Zebras with ISO on the rear dial: 1/400 sec. at f/6.3 in Manual mode. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. ABW at 7:43am on a mostly sunny morning. Tracking Flexible Spot (M) Continuous AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed perfectly. Image #2: Sandhill Crane colt about five months old

Typical Crane Colt with Pink Cap

I have been seeing this crane colt on the North Field for about a month. Only two young cranes from nests in the marsh survived this year and I am able to recognize each of them. So, this bird was hatched elsewhere and now flies to the lakefront to feed in the fields. Notice the pink cap and see how it compares to the caps of the birds in Image #1 (bright red) and in Image #3 (with the pink just barely coming in). As I know that the bird in Image #3 is four months old, I would surmise that this young bird is about five months old. Do understand that there is individual variation. A month from now, the cap on the Mother’s Day colt may not be as pink as it is on this bird.

This image was created at Indian Lake Estates, FL on Thursday 10 September. On foot on a very wet North Field I used the handheld Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS lens (at 600mm) and the blazingly fast AF King, the Sony Alpha a9 II Mirrorless Digital camera body. ISO 800: 1/800 sec. at f/9. The exposure was confirmed as perfect by RawDigger. ABW at 7:57am on a clear morning. Upper Right Zone Continuous AF was active at the moment of exposure and performed to perfection. Click on the image to see a larger version. Image #3: Head portrait of Sandhill Crane colt (hatched May 9 or 10)

Happy Bird-Day

The crane colt in this image was hatched on May 9 or 10. One of the chicks perished as a small colt. This bird is just starting to grown in some pink feathers about the head. I think, however, that it is quite pale for its age. If it survives for another month (and I do as well), I will know for sure.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide You can purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

The BAA Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide

126 pages, 87 photographs by Joe Przybyla and Arthur Morris.
The PDF for this e-Guide is an electronic download sent via e-mail.

Purchase your copy here in the BAA Online Store.

I had thought about doing a guide to some of the great but little-known photo hotspots around central Florida for about a decade, but those plans never came to fruition. I met Joe online in the Avian Forum at BirdPhotographer’s.Net about two years ago. Joe’s photography has improved tremendously over the past few years; he credits the BAA blog, my books and PDFs, and his participation on BPN. The one thing that I learned right from the get-go about Joe is that he is a hard and tenacious worker, always striving to improve his skills and to grow his knowledge base. As he knew of more than a few good spots in central Florida, I broached the idea of us doing a photographic site guide that covered many of the little-known photographic hotspots from Brandon to Lakeland to Joe Overstreet Road to Indian Lake Estates (my Florida home for the past 20 years or so). After more than many, many dozens of hours of effort, The BIRDS AS ART Middle of Florida Photographic Site Guide is now a reality. Thanks to Joe’s wife Dottie for her review of our writing. We all learned once again that writing is a process, a back and forth process. All thanks to the white pelicans of Lakeland. Here are the locations that are detailed in this e-Guide:

• Indian Lake Estates: Sandhills Cranes with chicks and colts, lots of vultures, and Ospreys up the kazoo!
• Gatorland, Kissimmee: Learn to make great images of wading birds in a cluttered rookery.
• The Brandon Rookery: Great for nesting Wood Storks, Great Egrets, and more.
• Circle Bar B Reserve, Lakeland: Here you will find a great variety of avian subjects in a great variety of habitats.
• Lake Morton, Lakeland: There are lots of silly tame birds here including and especially American White Pelican during the colder months.
• Lake Mirror, Lakeland: Tame Anhingas, Limpkins, and a zillion White Ibises at times.
• West Lake Parker, Lakeland: Here you will have a chance for two difficult birds, Snail Kite, and Purple Gallinule.
• Joe Overstreet Road, Kenansville: Crested Caracara, meadowlarks, Loggerhead Shrike, and much more on the fenceposts and barbed wire.

Each location includes a map, a detailed description of the best spots, best season, light and time of day instructions, the expected species, and an educational and inspirational gallery that is designed to open your eyes as to the possibilities.

You can purchase a copy here in the BAA Online Store.

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Typos

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